A Valkyrie's Mantle
by Abalisk
Summary: A twist on the typical Swan Maiden fairytale, featuring Tsume Yuki's lovely character Dracule Riskua from the One Piece fic "Tell it to the Marines." Gift Fic
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** A wholesome feel-good fic for those days when your feeling down~

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Ace had the mantle for as long as he could remember.

It always appeared in his possession if he traveled too far, materializing out of the air like magic. Falling across his shoulders like he'd never left it behind, even if he nailed it down deep in the chest at the end of his bed. The strange looks he'd received while walking into town with a collar of feathers around his neck were too much, so he tried getting rid of it.

Selling it was pointless because it would always come back.

Burying it did nothing.

Throwing it into the ocean, again, did nothing.

Burning it had no effect either, though it was gone longer than usual and he'd fallen into a deep depression during that entire span so he never tried it again.

Sabo had been fascinated, wondering if it had any other powers and overall had been the reason he came to accept the mysterious coat. Luffy just became all starry-eyed and asked where he could get one too. He'd been disappointed when Ace couldn't give him a direct answer.

It wasn't until after he left Dawn Island and became a pirate that part of the mystery was solved.

"That's a Valkyrie's cloak ," Marco murmured in surprise, when the cape faded into existence around his person. The black and red feathers were all ruffled in an agitated manner, reflecting Ace's mood as he sat glowering on the _Moby Dick's_ deck. "How did you come across something like that?"

It turned out that Marco was much older than he appeared. Much, much older. And knew what the mantle signified.

He'd been chosen, by some divine providence, to be the husband of a Swan Maiden.

A Swan Maiden or otherwise known as a Valkyrie, a mythical female warrior that served as protectors of the King of their choosing.

 _What the hell?_

Ace laughed sardonically in the man's face once he'd gotten over the shock of his explanation, because it was just that ridiculous. Who in their right mind would choose him of all people to marry such a powerful figure? He was the demon child of the late Pirate King. There was no way a woman (or any woman for that matter) would find it beneficial to be burdened with him as a husband. He wanted nothing to do with it.

Or so he thought.

He very much wanted to eat those bitter words the first moment he laid eyes on her.

She was on Luffy's crew, his little brother her chosen King ( _because of course Luffy was that lucky, why wouldn't he be?_ ). Riskua was her name, hair the color of a crimson dawn and eyes so startlingly yellow they could have very well been plucked right from a beast's skull. She was a warrior, fierce and loyal—vicious as a hurricane in the heat of battle.

And to him, she was as radiant as the sun.

It was no wonder he was tongue tied, the moment she strode up to him and gave a beauteous smile, her yellow eyes melting into warm amber.

"I see my favor has guarded you well. It's good to finally meet you, I've been waiting," she says, and Ace nearly faints.

He returns her mantle, and the red and black wings that burst from her back only add to her feral beauty. The _Straw Hat_ crew give the appropriate applause, 'oohing' and 'aahing' as she flaps the wings experimentally. Ace smiles as she takes to the sky, her wings beating powerfully through the air, her form shifting to that of a black swan, the crown of her avian head as red as her hair.

His heart soars with her and he knows now that he wouldn't have it any other way.

They later sit beneath the stars, huddled among the feathers of the mantle, two hearts beating as one at last.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Probably should point out that swan's are actually terrifying... they have bad tempers.

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Shanks stilled as a shadow fell over his ship, the lip of his sake pitcher mere millimeters from his open mouth. He recognized that silhouette. Glancing up, he squinted against the blinding rays of the sun, picking out the familiar black wings as they wheeled about, looking for a place to land.

He grinned.

"Clear the deck, we got a visitor!" Shanks crowed, and everyone scrambled to get out of the way as the sound of wing beats drew closer.

The Yonko just sat back and enjoyed the show as the enormous bird nearly took off a man's head as the wings swung out, fluttering closed when it stuck the landing. A black swan, as large if not larger than himself, stood imperiously on his deck, glowering at anyone who dared meet it's gaze.

Shanks smiled when the creature seemed to shrink and stretch, the magnificent wings retracting into a billowing cloak, a man standing in its place. Mihawk turned to pin him with his signature scowl, yellow eyes aglow.

"Hawky!" Shanks greeted exuberantly, flinging his arms wide, "What brings you all the way to this lonely corner of the New World?" Brandishing his pitcher with a flourish like he was toasting the swan man, Shanks took a deep pull, gulping down the alcohol greedily.

"Riskua has finally retrieved her mantle," Mihawk stated dully, watching as his red-haired friend smacked his lips and gave a satisfied sigh, "A man brought it to her."

"Really? I'll have to thank him." Shanks asked, excitement bleeding into his voice. He'd always wanted to see what his cute daughter's wings would look like. He'd been enamored with the idea ever since he found Raowl, who unfortunately never got the chance to find her wings, though she did tell him about it.

Who knew Valhallans and humans could have children? He certainly hadn't known, though he wouldn't trade his little Gully for anything in the world. They were so rare and blended in with humans so well, they were considered legendary, mythical creatures that served a higher power. Which was total rubbish because they were just as fallible and mortal as anyone else, they just had a higher sense of loyalty. Almost magically binding.

Well, except for Dracule Mihawk. He seemed to do whatever he wanted, he was an odd duck like that.

Shanks snorted at his own joke.

The Shichibukai blinked languidly, staring at the Yonko as if he were a particularly dim ant. "Do you even recall what it means once a Valkyrie's found her wings through the help of another?"

Shanks paused, a faint but very distinct feeling of dread rising into the pit of his stomach. No, he in fact, did not remember. He recalled that Valhallans weren't all swans, that they also had a raven specie ( _like that Law kid he's been hearing about_ ). He remembered that Valhallan men were called Einherjar and typically worked on different rule sets than the Valkyries, earning their wings through feats as opposed to a search, though both were well versed in battle.

Still...

"Was I drunk when you told me?"

Mihawk's mouth twisted. So that was a 'yes' then. "When a Valkyrie's cloak bonds with and protects someone else, the two are irrevocably pair-bonded."

"Oh, a pair-bond that's not so bad," he said, taking a swig of his sake.

Only to spit it out a moment later when it clicked.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Enter: Law the ravenman.

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Law clicked his beak in irritation, glowering at the pest that crouched far too close to Ris-ya on the _Polar Tang's_ outer deck. A stare down that the annoyance in question staunchly returned, only the displeasure was a bit more obvious on his human face.

Portgas D. Ace: designation "Fire Fist" by the World Government, and the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. With a bounty at five hundred-fifty million beri and having just narrowly escaped his execution at the Battle of Marineford ( _with the help of the woman at his side, no less)_ , Law saw him as probably the largest threat on his ship.

He told himself it had nothing to do with the fact that he was holding Ris-ya's hand.

Sure, Law had ordered his crew to immediately set sail from Sabaody Archipelago in the hopes they would gain favor with the Straw Hat pirates' captain and his allies. But what he hadn't expected was for Ris-ya to be there and fighting so viciously for the freedom of this man.

Yeah, Law saw the benefit of getting Fire Fist-ya on his side...

But he was also very aggravated by that possessive gesture.

Law hadn't been able to get the red-haired woman out of his mind ever since he fished her out of the ocean three years ago. He'd been completely enamored with her vibrant pluma— _hair_ —the bright color of her eyes, and the easy manner at which she interacted with him and his crew. At the time, he'd even offered his mantle as protection, but she refused on the grounds that she was searching for something and that his wings would better serve his own goals.

He hadn't really understood what she meant, _until now_.

A _Cygnus Valkyrie_ , she'd been a Valhallan this entire time and he hadn't realized it. She shared the same specie as Doflamingo and Cora-san, a distinction that on some level bothered him and made him shift from talon to talon. But the evidence was there, the black and red feathers sweeping over her shoulders and pooling around where she sat on the deck. The colors suited her, just as all mantles are meant to.

She certainly hadn't acted like he expected a Swan Maiden to act. Though Cora-san had been alright as a swan Einherjar and from what he'd seen of Ris-ya, she didn't fit the regular profile either.

"Who's the big buzzard?" Fire Fist-ya asked roughly, sidelining his thoughts, and giving him a challenging scowl.

Law couldn't help the slight puff of feathers around his face, nor the indignant croak.

Ris-ya chuckled, and elbowed the man. "Don't be rude, Ace. You're talking to the captain of this ship," she said, motioning to Law as she continued, "Ace meet Trafalgar D. Water Law and Law meet Portgas D. Ace."

Neither of them said anything, settling instead on menacingly glaring at each other.

Because Law was well aware that the two had proclaimed themselves pair-bonded. At Marineford the two had practically announced it to the entire world. An idea that bothered him the more he thought about it... he'd been hell-bent on wooing Ris-ya when he found her again. Of course, the new specie designation came as a shock, but he wasn't about to give up on what he set his eye on.

And if there was one thing to know about ravens, it was that they were tenacious.

The fact that this man swept in and gained Ris-ya's favor right under his beak, irked him. The gift of one's own mantle was priceless and would instantly endear them to the one who brought it, maybe even mate with them. Cygnus culture was steeped in a ridiculous amount of ritualistic superstition and they followed their traditions seriously and zealously. Ris-ya probably believed she was permanently soul bound to this fool.

It was nonsense.

Their mantles may be magic, but there was no such thing as soul mates. Law's Corvus family had done extensive research into the sacred bonds of Valhallans and had found them all to be false. Before they all died that is. Law was the last living legacy of his families research and he would all too happily disprove Ris-ya's illusions; in fact, he looked forward to the challenge. The very thought made him want to preen his feathers.

On that thought...

"Law... Are you going to sit up there like a gargoyle all day or are you going to come down here?" Ris-ya snarked as if reading his mind, patting the deck in front of her, and internally Law grinned.

He was going to get his feathers preened. It now made so much sense why Ris-ya was so good at it the first time they met.

Eagerly, he hopped down from the main mast, his talons clicking on the deck and his wings half- stretched to keep balance. He bobbed his head in greeting before practically engulfing Ris-ya with his bulk, his body too large to sit fully on her lap.

 _Take that Fire Fist-ya,_ he gloated, giving the man next to them a smug look. If the temperature rose when he lay his head affectionately over the woman's shoulder, Law pretended not to notice, enjoying Ris-ya's attentions as she smoothed over and realigned his feathers.

He wasn't above being petty.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Aaaand more bird people

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He'd been planning it for a while. He just had to wait for the opportunity.

And that opportunity knocked when Fire Fist-ya returned to the Whitebeard crew after having spent his allotted few weeks—far too long in his opinion—with the Straw Hats. His chance to win over Ris-ya couldn't have come at a better time and he could finally make his attempts to woo her without any interference or stress from trying to outdo ( _and distract_ ) Fire Fist-ya.

The look the man had shot him when he left on his Devil Fruit-powered skiff could have killed... with fire if he got his way. Luckily, Ris-ya forbade the man from literally igniting his feathers after their first contest.

Though the fact she'd also banned him from just using _Shambles_ on the fool greatly dampened that victory.

Still, the knowledge that he got the stick around and Fire Fist-ya couldn't, made the wait worth it. Sure, Law had his own crew to look after, but that was what he had Bepo for. He trusted him to keep everything in line while he was on his quest.

And it was time to implement step one.

The clatter as the rock struck the deck would have been cringeworthy to his highly sensitive ears, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. Law was too fixated on Ris-ya's reaction to his gift, his amber eyes tracking her movement as she strode over to investigate the noise.

Only, she was intercepted by a bright red ball of rubbery limbs and straw hat.

"Ooh, cool! Hey, 'Skua! Look at this rock I found!" Straw Hat-ya exclaimed after tumbling over the stone, holding it up over his head so that the sunlight flickered through it, casting a teal reflection.

Law resisted the urge to bash his beak into the mast.

If it's not one thing, it's another, he thought sourly, his feathers puffing up in indignation as Ris-ya stared at the uncut emerald with bright eyes.

Valhallans were notoriously attracted to jewels and other bright things due to their avian natures, the Corvus even more so. Thus it was a staple when it came to courting rituals for the interested party to bring a shiny bauble of some sort. Cygnus culture was a bit different, but Law wasn't about to try and imitate the long and very intricate dance routine that the swan-folk performed.

He wouldn't have been able to swim anyway. Devil fruit or not.

A croak rolled up his throat as Straw Hat-ya turned his tribute about, ogling the way sunlight glittered against the stone. This wasn't supposed to happen. Fire Fist-ya was the only one he thought he'd have to look out for. He hadn't expected that Straw Hat-ya would actively interfere... _Did his brother put him up to th–_

"Hey Traffy! Were you the one who found this?!" Straw Hat-ya shouted, nearly bowling Law over with his voice alone.

Law blinked down at the earnest curiosity on the rubber man's face, and revised his notions. Straw Hat-ya couldn't lie worth shit and he doubted the boy would even know romance if it smacked him in the face. The only things he cared about was meat and adventure. It was probably entirely coincidental that he intercepted the gift.

Plus, he should have just handed it to her directly... he was really kicking himself for that flop.

So hesitantly, Law bobbed his head.

The grin that split Straw Hat-ya's face was nearly blinding. "Cool! Didja want it back?"

Certainly not. Not after having the thing paraded about. It was meant for Ris-ya alone. The surprise gift was ruined now, so he was going to have to find something different.

Law looked away defiantly, his feathers standing on end.

"Okay, if you say so! I'll keep your present safe in case you want it later," Straw Hat-ya replied seriously, clutching the bauble between his hands in a strangely delicate hold. Then he grinned. "I'm gonna go show it around! Nami! Nami! Hey Nami–"

Listening as the boy stomped away, Law tried to pay no mind to the knowing look Ris-ya was throwing him, opting instead to clench his talons into the yardarm to curb his frustration.

It was only after Ris-ya walked away that Law realized Straw Hat-ya understood his answer without him having to say anything.


End file.
